The ping of aluminum bats striking baseballs at Cougar Field will echo through the campus as the University of Houston hosts the Conference USA (C-USA) Baseball Tournament May 26-30.

With a split of a doubleheader against the University of Louisville on May 15, the Cougars clinched a berth in the C-USA Tournament. Top 10-ranked East Carolina University (ECU) and 2003 C-USA Tournament champion the University of Southern Mississippi also join the Cougars in this year’s tournament.

The top eight finishers in the regular season standings qualified for the double-elimination tournament. The winner receives an automatic berth in the NCAA 64-team tournament. The final eight teams of the NCAA tournament compete for the national championship in the College World Series.

As they did last year, the Cougars played a difficult schedule. They faced perennial powers Rice University and Louisiana State University and added another powerhouse this season - University of Texas at Austin.

Although the team’s record has hovered below .500 most of the season, the Cougars have clawed back to finish the regular season at 28-27 after winning two out of three games against Tulane University May 20-22.

The Cougars are now playing their best baseball of the season, winning 14 of their last 19 games. Junior catcher and outfielder Rob Johnson was named C-USA’s Co-Hitter of the Week May 17. Senior right-handed pitcher Matt Varner was named C-USA’s Pitcher of the Week May 10.

“We have finally gotten some guys healthy, and the pieces in the puzzle are coming together,” said Rayner Noble, head coach for the Cougar baseball team. “We have always done well at the end of the season, and we’re hoping to keep that tradition alive this season.”

As the Cougars proved last year, it’s not how they start the season but how they end it.

Last year, the Cougars peaked at the end of the season but were eliminated from the C-USA Tournament by ECU. With a winning record and rigorous schedule they earned an at-large bid to the 2003 NCAA tournament.

In the regional competition at College Station, the Cougars lost their first game against the University of Alabama, then reeled off four wins in a row, including a late inning rally over Texas A&M University. After advancing to their third super regional in four years, the Cougars were one win away from the College World Series but fell to eventual national champion Rice.

This year, the Cougars hope to improve on the success of past seasons by winning this year’s C-USA Tournament and advancing to the College World Series.

“It is an honor to have the conference tournament on our field,” Noble said. “Our facility is as good or better than anyone in the conference, so it is an honor that the league chose UH. For this team, especially with our older players, this is something our seniors who are leaving can appreciate, even more so when they are done here.”

A complete schedule of games and ticket information for the C-USA Baseball Tournament can be found at the UH Athletics’ Web site at www.uhcougars.com or by calling the tickets office at (713) 743-9444.

Brian Campbell
bacampbe@central.uh.edu